Welsh Liberal Democrats

Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Education in the National Assembly, has questioned the timing of the Education Minister's decision to undertake a wide-ranging review of education services in Wales. The announcement, made in the Senedd on Tuesday, comes in the wake of a number of unsuccessful Welsh Government initiatives to improve school standards in Wales.

Commenting after the Minister's Oral Statement to the Siambr, Aled Roberts said:

"Whilst we all appreciate that improvement in the education system is long overdue, I have to question the timing of this latest announcement.

"The report on the structure of education services in Wales - the Viv Thomas report - recommended that an in-depth review should be carried out in late 2013 to assess any need for structural change.

"However, the Minister is choosing to ignore that advice and plough ahead with yet more changes, despite the fact that many initiatives have yet to "bed in" properly. As just one example, the regional consortia which have been charged with facilitating school improvement are still not fully operational, but their role is now being called into question.

"Instead of constant restructuring, what is needed is a concerted effort by the Welsh Labour Government and their officials to ensure that school improvement services actually deliver improvement. There is a danger that all this restructuring will simply serve to hide failings.

"The Welsh Labour Government needs to assume responsibility for the situation and allow recently-introduced changes to deliver. Rather than providing stability and direction, today's decision throws a question mark over the whole future of education in Wales."